8.5R Gremlins

[Msportman]

8 hours ago, AHG said:

I think that’s it, as I hear similar (yet different) issues from many different makes.

Cars were not so reliable even in the 70s and 80s, despite having 5-6 decades to mature. I remember when I started driving (in the 90s but my car was a ‘73 beetle) I had to be quite the mechanic just to be able to use it (push start when the starter died, tune the auto choke, reconnect gas cable when it tore, etc).

 

Maybe cars with less tech would be more reliable, until all the new tech becomes old and “tried and true” and can reach the reliability levels of the “golden age” of cars (2008-2020, IMHO).

I agree cars between 2008-2020 definitely hit a sweet spot.

 

Even if you look at early diesels particularly the 1.9TDI used across the VAG range was extremely hardy and reliable. I remember in VW Driver they did an article on its origins as a generator engine and when they rigged the engine up with only oil changes they stripped it down and measured wear after 500,000 miles and it was negligible.

 

None of this EGR issues and forever problematic problems we now get with Ad Blue pumps failing blocked filters all in the name of trying to save the environment .

 

Having electronic touch switches and more complex dash boards is always going to be harder to fix than the old analogue stuff which actually I prefer.

[Geeza]

I have noticed on my car and others on here that the leather seats from new have dimples marks on the upper and lower seating parts, mine came like this from new. Has anyone tried to make a warranty claim for what is a 2.5k option.

[Booth11]

4 hours ago, Geeza said:

I have noticed on my car and others on here that the leather seats from new have dimples marks on the upper and lower seating parts, mine came like this from new. Has anyone tried to make a warranty claim for what is a 2.5k option.

Have you got photos of the dimples on yours?  Do you mean dips on the part where you sit?  If so, to an extent that’s normal, all leather seats I’ve had in past Golf’s have had similar when new.  

[Geeza]

Yes the parts where you sit, ho hum...

[Booth11]

10 minutes ago, Geeza said:

Yes the parts where you sit, ho hum...

You could raise it with your dealership, see what they say. 

[scuderiafolene]

On 08/02/2025 at 17:14, TheJetMan said:

Amazing thank you! Get them to raise a technical bulletin ASAP! 

 

I am gonna take the garage queen for a spin today. Can you explain, if you know, how to produce the error or force the issue and I will do my best to record it so we can use it as evidence. 

[R_wannabe_owner]

21 hours ago, Geeza said:

I have noticed on my car and others on here that the leather seats from new have dimples marks on the upper and lower seating parts, mine came like this from new. Has anyone tried to make a warranty claim for what is a 2.5k option.

You could try making a warranty claim but realistically, I think VW’s would consider indentations and depressions caused by sitting on leather car seats to be normal.

 

Lots of information on the internet of how to reduce / remove these indentations / depressions by using a combination of warm, damp cloths and a heat source. Maybe worth reading up on this and trying if you’re brave enough! 
 

As an aside, I wouldn’t really class this as a gremlin. I’ve always considered a gremlin to be something that causes a mechanical / electrical malfunction or error. Maybe there’s a need for a separate discussion topic for non-gremlin related (cosmetic, interior/exterior trim, bodywork, paintwork etc.) issues such as your seat indentations? 

[TheJetMan]

2 hours ago, scuderiafolene said:

 

I am gonna take the garage queen for a spin today. Can you explain, if you know, how to produce the error or force the issue and I will do my best to record it so we can use it as evidence. 

So for me, have the vehicle set in individual mode, with everything set to race, making sure the gearbox is set to M+ mode and don’t change out of M+ mode at any point by placing it in M, S or D mode or in fact P mode. 
 

But like I said, don’t worry too much about a video now. I’ve done the leg work and the technical team now know about the issue after I forced them to talk to the factory who in turn confirmed there is an issue and they in progress of developing a fix. 

[Booth11]

1 hour ago, TheJetMan said:

So for me, have the vehicle set in individual mode, with everything set to race, making sure the gearbox is set to M+ mode and don’t change out of M+ mode at any point by placing it in M, S or D mode or in fact P mode. 
 

But like I said, don’t worry too much about a video now. I’ve done the leg work and the technical team now know about the issue after I forced them to talk to the factory who in turn confirmed there is an issue and they in progress of developing a fix. 

 

Does the issue kick in after a certain time in that mode/gearbox configuration, or does it differ?

 

I have done a number of journeys this week,  in Individual with gearbox in M+ continuously but not had any error manifest itself  (as yet).  These have ranged from  from about 20 mins uninterrupted to 40 mins uninterrupted. 

[TheJetMan]

5 minutes ago, Booth11 said:

 

Does the issue kick in after a certain time in that mode/gearbox configuration, or does it differ?

 

I have done a number of journeys this week,  in Individual with gearbox in M+ continuously but not had any error manifest itself  (as yet).  These have ranged from  from about 20 mins uninterrupted to 40 mins uninterrupted. 

I’ve found it’s completely random. 

[Booth11]

26 minutes ago, TheJetMan said:

I’ve found it’s completely random. 

Ok, thanks.  I’ll continue testing it out when I can. 

[scuderiafolene]

2 hours ago, TheJetMan said:

So for me, have the vehicle set in individual mode, with everything set to race, making sure the gearbox is set to M+ mode and don’t change out of M+ mode at any point by placing it in M, S or D mode or in fact P mode. 
 

But like I said, don’t worry too much about a video now. I’ve done the leg work and the technical team now know about the issue after I forced them to talk to the factory who in turn confirmed there is an issue and they in progress of developing a fix. 

 

So I took it for a spin. But I am little confused by your setting. Are you driving it in race or individual? And if you are in individual what are the settings there? 

 

I did this: I put it in individual mode where everything is sport/sport+. When I start the car, gearbox starts in S+. When I start using paddels it goes into M+1. Then I start shifting up and down during my drive and it works as it should. When I put in R and then D it goes to S+ and stays there until I start shifting again then it stays in M+. Then it started snowing so I couldnt play more. 

 

Edit: I dont have a race mode for driving as option under individual. Could this be a PP issue cause you guys maybe have more modes?

[Booth11]

2 hours ago, scuderiafolene said:

 

So I took it for a spin. But I am little confused by your setting. Are you driving it in race or individual? And if you are in individual what are the settings there? 

 

I did this: I put it in individual mode where everything is sport/sport+. When I start the car, gearbox starts in S+. When I start using paddels it goes into M+1. Then I start shifting up and down during my drive and it works as it should. When I put in R and then D it goes to S+ and stays there until I start shifting again then it stays in M+. Then it started snowing so I couldnt play more. 

 

Edit: I dont have a race mode for driving as option under individual. Could this be a PP issue cause you guys maybe have more modes?

The PP is exactly the same for Individual mode.  There isn’t ’Race’ in Individual.  The choices for Drive (gearbox) are:

Eco

Comfort

Sport 

Sport+

 

Assume @TheJetMan was referring to Sport+ which then becomes M+ in manual mode. 
 

The other behaviour you mention when putting the gearbox into R or going into D from M+ (it’s shows S+) is normal. 

 

[mahalo]

Let's be honest here, VW's implementation of new digital electronics and software to control car functions is poor when compared to its peers. Even worse their response in terms of warranty and defect resolution is poor sometimes shockingly poor. Sure other manufacturers get digital electronic and software issues but in my experience they are not as frequent or persistent as VW, in addition defect resolution seems better and warranty support is better with their peers. 

[R_wannabe_owner]

1 hour ago, mahalo said:

Let's be honest here, VW's implementation of new digital electronics and software to control car functions is poor when compared to its peers. Even worse their response in terms of warranty and defect resolution is poor sometimes shockingly poor. Sure other manufacturers get digital electronic and software issues but in my experience they are not as frequent or persistent as VW, in addition defect resolution seems better and warranty support is better with their peers. 

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’ve had fairly recent experience of non-VAG warranty support and defect resolution and it was streets ahead of what can be expected from VW.